


Memory of an Enlisted Man ║ A Billy in Westworld Story

by damnitlaura



Series: Billy in Westworld [2]
Category: The Punisher (TV 2017)
Genre: Blood and Injury, Major Character Injury, Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s), Other, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-24
Updated: 2019-09-24
Packaged: 2020-10-27 08:09:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20757128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/damnitlaura/pseuds/damnitlaura
Summary: Marie Kondoing all over canon. A brief memory that takes place pre-canon buring one of Billy's earlier deployments as an enlisted man.





	Memory of an Enlisted Man ║ A Billy in Westworld Story

**Author's Note:**

> I do not consent to my fics being published anywhere else.

The trip was as routine as they came, get from point "A" to point "B" neutralize the threat, and then back to base, debrief, then retire for the night,wake up at 0500 the next day ready for the next mission. They had done several of these since their company had deployed months ago, every road, every turn, planned and carried out without so much as a hiccup.

It was routine.

What wasn't was the IED that tore through the first Humvee midway through the third and fourth checkpoints.

An ear splitting boom filled the air followed closely by the sound of metal being torn apart as if it were paper along with the cracking and shattering of glass. He didn’t hear any screams, everything was drowned out by the high pitched ringing in his ears. He knew he didn't have the luxury of waiting ‘til the ringing died down, there could be enemy combatants surrounding them at that very moment, aiming their guns at the wreckage that was their convoy and pick them off one by one. 

Billy grabbed his M27, the automatic rifle feeling heavy in his hand, squinted out of a portion of the window that wasn’t damaged too much, eyes quickly scanning the outside for hostiles. When he was satisfied that there wasn’t any immediate danger, he threw the door open, wincing as he planted his feet on the pebbled floor, adjusting his stance as he brought the butt of the rifle against his shoulder, eye looking through the optic mount, pointing the barrel of his rifle as he does another sweep of his immediate perimeter.

Once he is sure that he is not under enemy fire he goes to take a step but a sharp pain shoots up from his abdomen and makes him stop immediately and look down where the pain was radiating from and sees a large shard of glass protruding from low in his gut, blood thick and slowly oozing around the sharp edges that are further cutting into the soft tissue with every shift.

“Fuck” he mutters to himself, he hadn’t thogouth that he had been injured, there had been no pain but now every breath he took was almost too much. He had thught that the humvee had taken most of the damage, was expecting only a few minor cuts and scrpes, not to have a piece of fucking glass sticking out of his lower stomach. A piece of glass he’s gonna have to remove if he wants any chance of getting back to base.

He grits his teeth at the mere thought of having to pull the large shard of glass out, it’s gonna be painful but it has to be done, he can’t move without almost whiting out, and if he wants to get back to base, he needs to scour through the wreckage that is their convoy and radio for help.

As gently as he can so as to not irritate his wound further he leans onto the opened door and looks into the Humvee, the three other marines that made up the second car not moving, Reyes, the brother that had sat beside him in the back, was slumped against the side of the car, the right side of his face covered in blood as is slowly poured outta somewhere underneath his helmet, muttering a curse under his breath when he can't tell if the man is breathing. 

Knowing he won’t be able to help anyone before he sorts himself out, he reaches for the first aid bag under the front passenger seat, pain shoots up his side as he feels the glass move against the tender edges of the torn skin. Biting back a groan he pulls the bag free and with deft fingers pulls the zipper open and lifts the flap. Despite his training he forgoes the nitrile gloves and picks up the scissors and as carefully as he can cuts around the piece of glass sticking out and removes the soiled pieces of clothing. The skin around it looks angry, red and swollen, knowing he can't delay any more he picks up one of the gauze packets and rips it open, quickly discarding the packet, takes one of the few loose straps from him uniform and bites into it and finally with his left hand takes hold of the end of the glass, the slight jostle makes him groan again. He steels himself, closes his eyes and takes a deep breath and holds it in his lungs as he begins to pull. 

He feels how the edges drag against the soft tissue of his insides and cries out in pain, the sound muffled slightly by the impromptu gag in his mouth. He feels lightheaded for a second when the tip of the shard is freed dropping it as he slumps against the humvee door at his back, feels the blood rush out and wet the skin around the wound and down, quickly seeping into the top of his fatigues and he forces himself to continue. He takes one end of the gauze and stuffs it into the cut, squeezing his eyes shut and biting on the strap in his mouth as pain shoots through him. 

He’s halfway through the roll of gauze when he feels resistance and he thanks his lucky stars, the wound isn’t that deep, and it didn’t feel like anything internal was punctured, and firmly presses the rest of the roll onto the wound and does the three minute count, then one more just to be safe. He tears through the packaging of one of the larger bandages and wraps it around his waist, making sure that there is enough pressure on the wound to keep the gauze tight against it but not so much that it makes him too uncomfortable.

He pushed himself off the door slowly, carefully, there was pain still but it wasn't the searing and blinding pain that had left him gasping before, it was duller, bearable. He quickly tested his range of movement and is relieved that he isn't too restricted, maybe if keeps the strain to a minimum he’ll live to see another day. 

Himself squared away he checks on the other men in the Humvee, going first to open the front passenger door and swears, Sticks, a 23 year old surfer type, blonde, blue eyes with golden tan skin, from California is slumped against the seat not moving, the front of his uniform is dark, the wet material clinging to his unmoving chest. He reached over and pressed his fingers to his neck, to the spot under his jaw, next to his windpipe but wasn’t too surprised when he didn’t feel anything. There was too much blood soaked onto his clothes for there to be one. He walked around the large car, and threw open the back door, Reyes’ body falling onto him in the same motion, the strain of holding up the 180 odd pound man makes his wound flare up, making him guide the unconscious man down to the floor and propping him up against the back tire of the Humvee. He quickly checks for a pulse and is relieved when he feels a pulse against the tip of his fingers, it’s weak but it’s there.

“Reyes, Reyes can you hear me!!” Billy shook the man’s shoulder his neck lolled from side to side, his dark skin looking more ahsen than it had a few minutes ago, he shook him harder calling his name out louder a few more times until there was a visible hitch in the mans breathing, the rising and falling of his chest more pronounced,

“Bill...what th--” Reyes let out a groan when he tried to move Billy’s hand shooting out to press against the middle of his chest to ease him back against the wheel,

“Easy man...we hit somethin’, took out the first two cars

“We gotta--” Reyes made to get up again, pushing himself off the ground and away from the car, when he was upright he began tilting to the side, Billy barely managed to get a hold of him in time before he hit the ground.

“Easy, _ easy _,” he said as he lowered Reyes back down and against the side of the Humvee, “right now all you gotta do is get yourself right...you can join me after the nausea passes and are able to take a step without wanting to hurl.” 

Reyes gave him a curt nod, Billy knew the guy hated it but he was of no use to anyone with his senses inpared as they were. Billy had had his share of concussions in the past and they weren’t anything to sneeze at. 

Billy stood and peered into the front of the car, Scott “Tennessee” Graves, one of the older men in their unit, who had two tours under his belt already, who had that very morning mentioned over breakfast that this would be his last deployment since his wife was a few months away from giving birth to his first child, was pinned to the seat, a metal rod, no doubt from something off the second car, sticking out of his shoulder, the area around it already drenched in red, skin more pale than it had any right to be, shattered glass littered all over him like some over enthusiastic kid got carried away with a glitter pen. Billy knew the man was gone, no one could be _ that _ still and still be alive, still he reached a hand over, laying his index and middle finger against his neck and checked for a pulse. When he didn’t feel one, he shifted his fingers slightly and continued to wait for the slight push against his fingertips. When it still didn’t appear he picked up the arm that was closest to him, pushed the sleeve up and pressed his fingers to Scott’s wrist. _ C’mon Tennessee _, with a heavy heart he placed Scott’s hand on his lap, sniffed back the tears he felt pricking in his eyes and continued on. 

He walked over to the second car, body crouched low and eye looking through the optic mount of his gun again, quickly scanning the area, when he came up on the rear of the Humvee he could make out the sound of someone crying out in pain from the back. Without hesitation Billy reached for the handle of the rear door, having to yank on it a few times before he was able to throw it open, and for a split second he wished he hadn’t. The first thing he saw was one of his fellow marines, Jason Todd, clutching at his left leg, or rather half of it, the bottom half was lying just out of reach from Jason, the stump bleeding profusely. Billy reached for the nearest first aid kit and tore it open, once again forgoing the gloves and reaching for the tourniquet. He ripped the plastic bag it came in and wrapped and secured it around Jason’s thigh, all the while Jason cried, voice hoarse and raw, “My leg, my leg is gone, my leg is fucking gone!!”

Billy gave the tourniquet the final tug and fastened it in place, reaching out and took a hold of Jason’s scruff, and looked Jason in the eye and in as sure a voice as he could said, 

“You’re gonna be okay...Red listen to me...you’re gonna be alright!”

Jason shook his head, the action so violet Billy wondered if he should move out of the way so to not get thrown up on, then Jason started listing to the side, 

“Hey, hey! C’mon stay with me man!” Billy shouted as he slapped Jason none too gently to get him to stay awake and aware.

There was shuffling coming from behind him, making Billy bring up his automatic rifle and aim, finger ready to pull on the trigger, relaxing only when he saw that it was Reyes, legs dragging on the pebbled ground as he slowly made his way towards them, torso low and gun tucked against his side. He looked somewhat better than when he left him, some of the color had returned to his face.

“You good?” 

Reyes only nodded, lips pressed together in a hard line as he leaned against the side of the car. 

Billy tuned and ducked back inside the car, Jason was slumped back against his seat, head rolling from side to side as he continued to mourned the loss of his leg. _ At least you still have your balls Red. _

Knowing Jason was good...as good as he was gonna be given the circumstances, he moved on to check the rest of the men in the car. Norris, Dean, and Hanson were all full of shrapnel and way too bloody to be anything but dead. Still, he went around and checked each for a pulse. He didn’t allow himself to hesitate, to wait, to check and recheck for a pulse that he knew wasn’t there and wouldn’t come no matter how long he pressed his fingers to their necks and wrists.

He goes back around the car, tells Reyes to stay with Jason, keep him awake while he goes and checks the Lead car, Reyes nods and shuffles over to lean against the open car door, Jason only an eyeshift away as he looked out to the open road. 

Billy turned to make his way to the lead car and for a seconds wondered if he should, the car was flipped over, the outside burned black, windows completely gone from their frames._ I’ve heard of guys surviving worse _. 

With that thought in mind he crouched low and made his way to the wrecked vehicle, every other step he took he scanned his surroundings, unable to trust the quiet and still expanse. Once he reached the wreck, he lowered himself onto one knee, a spark of pain shooting up his side when the motion put too much pressure on the packed gash on his stomach.

Despite the pain and through gritted teeth he inspects the inside of the Humvee, he almost steps away, the smell of burnt flesh too strong for him to take but the sound of wet breaths keep him where he is. His eyes scan the inside as quickly as they can and he sees Otto, his body is twisted, one of his arms is bent in the wrong direction, his mouth is open and half his left cheek is missing, along with his closely cropped chestnut hair from the same side, left in its wake is raw red skin with a scattering of large bloody boils, his bright hazel eyes swollen shut into purple slits, nowhere in sight is the..._ boy _ fresh out of MOS training and on his first deployment. He’s gaping like a fish out of water, the sound wet as he struggles to breathe or talk or cry out for help, it’s a sight Billy knows is gonna haunt him for the rest of his life. 

Next to him is James Malone, their companies charismatic reverend and medic, in much the same state with the only difference that he was not only missing part of his face but also his right arm. _ What could God's plan possibly be for _ ** _this_ ** _ ? _ He thought bitterly as he saw his brothers suffering. He reaches inside and grips one of the straps from his vest and drags him out and away from the wreck, Otto makes the first real sound, a wet choked off scream that makes Billy wince, silently promising that if the kid makes it out of this, he’s gonna buy him his first beer. He goes back and pulls Malone out calling out to Reyes as he lays him down beside Otto. When Reyes comes into view Billy shouts at him to bring the first aid bag. Reyes disappears for a minute as Billy removes what’s left of his shirt and presses it to what remains of Malone’s arm to try and staunch the bleeding. When he looks back up, Reyes is trotting over, first aid kit hanging off his shoulder and tourniquet in hand, Reyes dropping to his knees as soon as he reaches them taking out the scissors and cutting away the sleeve at the shoulder. Reyes gags when he pulls the fabric free, Malones arm is mangled, the skin bloody and torn to shreds. He knows the sight isn’t anything new to the other marine, but he imagines it’s not something you ever get used to.

Reyes tears through the plastic packaging and wraps the band around the swell of his shoulder, the skin there smooth and unaffected. 

“How’s Red?” Billy asked as Reyes finished tying off the tourniquet.

“Had to give him something for the pain, he’s a little outta it, but...we gotta get him outta there, it ain’t good…” Reyes trailed off but Billy knew what he meant, _ it ain’t good being up close and personal with all that death _. 

Billy nodded, “Gonna check the others, you got this?”

Reyes nodded once and moved over to Otto, Billy saw him bring the scissors out before he turned and headed back to the lead car.

The smell of burnt flesh was just as strong and as gag inducing the second time around, he looked over the bodies that lay mangled on the car roof, looking like bloody chewed up dog toys. Georgie’s neck and chest were gone, having taken most of the damage, he would have to check his wrist if he wanted to check for a pulse. Dwight was in much the same boat, the right side of his body shredded to the point that he could see bone. 

If he were a man of belief, he would’ve sent out a silent prayer, begged whatever higher power there was in the world that they accept his brothers into...wherever, both had been good men. But he wasn’t, he couldn’t bring himself to believe that there was an all seeing, all powerful being out there in the cosmos, that controlled all of their day to day occurrences. And if he did and let things like this happen, then he was a cruel being and didn’t deserve that power and the adoration of millions. 

He just hoped their deaths had been quick, a flash of something and then nothing. 

He was pushing himself back up when he caught and heard a groan. He peered back in and caught the rise and fall of Stone’s chest. Billy reached in and grabbed onto the strap of his utility vest and started pulling him out as he said in a hurried voice,

“It’s alright Sir, I got you...we’re gonna get you outta this!” Billy said as he tugged harder, trying to unlodge Stone from under wight

“Stop...it Russo,” the older man said, his throat clicking audibly as he swallowed. “Get the others out…”

“Sir…”

“Just go...I can’t...I don’t want…”

It’s then that Billy took notice of the extent of the damage the man took, while the wounds on his upper body could probably been treated in one of the medtents, then taken to the nearest hospital, his lower half was broken in more ways than one.

“Stone...there’s--”

“God damn it Russo, I said to fucking leave me here!!” 

Billy flinched back at the amount of venom in the man’s words, hesitated telling him that he still had to pull him out, lay him along with the others. Instead he gave him a hard pat on the shoulder and pushed himself up and walked away from the car. Red still needed help, he still had to check if one of the humvees had a working radio so he could request a medevac. He’d take care of that first and then, he’d go back and drag out the bodies, leaving the lead car for last, that should be enough time for Stone. 

Billy looked over at Reyes as he trotted back to the second car, he was working over Otto still, holding wad of gauze over one of the larger injuries as he checked his eyes. When he reached it, he found Red slumped against the side of the car, eyes closed and breathing through his mouth, there was a slight wheeze with every intake of air. 

“C’mon Red, let’s get you outta here.” he said as he reached in and gently shook the marine whose eyes slowly opened, giving him a small nod. 

It took some maneuvering, but Billy was able to get Jason out of the car, left arm over his shoulder and side pressed firmly against his own and hobble to where the other survivors were. They had just cleared the front of the car, Billy gritting his teeth and pushing past the pain shooting up his side when Reyes walked up to them and went to take hold of Jason’s other side. The walk went by much quicker then.

Once Red was settled with the others, Billy had Reyes stay with them while he went and searched for a working radio. He checked the second car and went directly to the consol between the two front seats, the radio was a little banged up but the disp[lay was functioning making him breathe a sigh of relief as he turned the dial and entered the frequency for the distress channel, pressed and held the button on the receiver and said the words he was trained to say but hoped he’d never have to. 

“Dustoff, this is Blackbird, requesting medevac, over.”

Billy waited and counted the customary three seconds needed for a response, when it didn’t come he cursed and took a breath and tried to maintain his voice steady and clear. Then repeated the line.

“Dustoff, Dustoff, this is Blackbird, requesting medevac. Over.”

He took the pressure off the button and the click on the radio was the most beautiful sound Billy had ever heard. 

“Blackbird this is Dustoff, send it. Over.”

Billy kept a cool head and clear tone as he said the first line of the request, reciting their coordinates then continued,

“Line too: niner niner six fife. Break. Blackbird. Break

Line tree:...” here Billy hesitated for a moment. There had been 13 members in the squad that left their base that morning, packed away in 3 vehicles on a route that had been previously scouted and cleared as safe, the faces of the brothers he lost flashed through his face, he didn’t let his thoughts linger any longer, knew he didn’t have that commodity, not here. He had to think about the men that were still alive, still breathing, still had a chance to make it outta this desert road. He cleared the knot that had formed in his throat and continued to recite the request he had to get through. 

“Three alpha, break, two delta. Break.

“Line fow-er: Alpha. Break

“Line fife: 3 Lima. Break. 2 Alpha. Break

“Line six: November. Break

“Line seven: Charlie. Break

“Line eight: Alpha. Break.

“Line nine: None. Break. 

“This completes 9line medevac request. How copy. Over.”

The click came again and the voice over the radio was clear as it said, 

“Blackbird, this is Dustoff. We copy, medevac dispatched, EAT 10 minutes. out.” 

Billy breathed a sigh of relief, 10 minutes. He quickly unscrewed the radio from the console, grabbed a couple of smoke grenades and trotted to the back of the car, unhooked the stretches they had strapped there and trotted back to where Reyes and the others were, they still had to transfer Otto, Jason, and Malone onto the stretchers so they could just be loaded up onto the helicopter and evacuated. 

When he reached them he set the radio down and the stretchers down, looked up at Reyes and told him, 

“Bird is 10 minutes out, we need to get these guys on the litters to load them up and…” he paused but the _ we gotta get the others outta the others outta the cars _ hung unsaid between them. 

Without further prompting, Reyes hooked his arms under Jason’s armpits and Billy took his leg and gripped at the loose fabric of his fatigues, counted to three and lifted him up and onto the stretcher, gritting his teeth as pain shot up his abdomen. Doing the same for Otto and Malone. Then started the arduous task of removing their dead and lining them up a little ways away from their injured, covering them with a canvas sheet, Billy was working on tugging Stone out of the lead car, the man deathly still as Billy pulled and yanked to free him from where he was snagged on something when he heard the crackle of the radio, he jumped up and out and rushed over to the radio, pushing down the dizziness that threaten to overtake him as a voice came through the receiver,

“Blackbird this is Dustoff609. Two minutes out. Over.”

At those words Billy pulled the pin from one of the smoke grenades and almost instantly, green smoke erupted from the top of the can, encasing them in seconds. 

“Blackbird this is Dustoff609, we got visual on green smoke. Is that you? Over.”

Billy says a breathless yes into the receiver before his training kicks in and corrects himself, reciting call signs and confirming that the green smoke was in fact them.

“Blackbird this is Dustoff609 we see you. Over.”

It wasn’t long before they were able to hear the sound of the helicopter, even less when the spinning of the blades cleared the smoke, men jumping out of the helicopter and running to where they were, taking hold of the stretchers and rushing them over and loading them onto the helicopter. Another couple of guys went to where the rest of their squad laid and loaded them onto other stretchers and carried them to the second helicopter. He was on his way to help them when he stumbled, his vision blurred at the edges and everything seemed a bit too bright He closed his eyes tight and breathed for a moment, steadied himself and took a step when he was caught by the shoulder He turned and saw one of the guys from the first helicopter, his lips were moving but he could barely make out he was saying over the sound of the helicopter motor. 

“What?” he yelled, hoping the guy was able to hear him.

“I said, we gotta get you loaded up!”

Billy gave him a quizzical look, to which the guy said, 

“Soldier, you’ve bled through your bandages, we gotta get you outta here!”

Billy looked down at himself, the dark elastic bandage he had wrapped around his stomach had a large, wet dark spot. He looked back over at the guy, Wade read the name over his right breast pocket

“C’mon, we gotta get you outta here.”

Billy nodded and let Wade guide him to the belly of the helicopter, where Otto, Jason, and Malone were already being hooked up to IV bags, Reyes was sitting on one of the seats in the back, holding a cold compress to his head. Wade pointed for him to lay across a few seats and had him hold clean bandages to his stomach.

He felt when the helicopter took off the ground and shifted forward and that’s when his eyes began to droop, everything fading as tiredness overtaking him.

**Author's Note:**

> Come talk to me about Billy Russo on [tumblr](http://www.gollyderek.tumblr.com)


End file.
